For the Canada Day long weekend, Mr. and I went to the Okanagan with Bryan and Kathryn. Last year, we received a certificate for a two-night stay at The Villa at Hester Creek Estate Winery, so we took the opportunity to spoil ourselves on this getaway.

Terrafina Restaurant

To start, we shared the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio. There was so much on the plate you can barely see the thinly sliced wagyu beef. The flavour combination was quite typical — capers, parmesan, arugula, aioli — what came as a pleasant surprise was the little sprouts sprinkled on top. They gave a slight crunch, an earthy note, which brought a new dimension of flavour.

Last year when we went camping in Oliver, we checked out a number of wineries along the Black Sage Bench. But Oliver is the Wine Capital of Canada, of course they have more wineries to offer! So when we were in Osoyoos this summer, we headed north and stopped by the wineries along the Golden Mile Bench, another area known for its great wines.

Wines Along the Golden Mile Bench

Keep in mind that while we drink a fair share of wine through the years, but we don’t consider ourselves wine experts. This post is more to share our experience at each winery. We picked out ones that we know of, or ones with an interesting name, or simply made an impulse turn based on how the winery looks. We will tell you what we like and what we don’t like, from a personal preference standpoint.

Rustico Farm & Cellars

Laugh all you want, but the name of this winery just caught my attention. Rustico – there must be something rustic about this place. And boy, were we in for a pleasant surprise! The heritage house, the vineyards, the donkey brothers and the tasting room – this just has so much character.

We got inside the “Tasting Saloon” and felt the warm welcome from the staff, even though the space was packed! Their wines all some have cheeky names. Among the number of wines we tried, here is what we liked:

Farmer’s Daughter – A dry Gewurztraminer, citrusy and fragrant

Saloon Sally – A Cabernet Franc Rose, surprisingly fruit forward

Last Chance – A red blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, Chancellor. Because they no longer plant the Chancellor, now is literally the last chance to purchase this wine.

Threesome– Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot blend. This has the body to pair with rich, saucy dishes, or just a nice piece of steak.

Road 13 Vineyards

I have tried Road 13’s wines a number of times. The most memorable was at the Vancouver Home + Design Show Pop-up Dinner last year. Therefore, I wanted to visit the winery and try a few more of their wines. As soon as we got there, we saw a castle at the end of Road 13 (yes, the street is called Road 13), overlooking a gorgeous view of the vineyard and beyond. If you are looking for a castle wedding, this is the place! (more…)

Church & State Wines

We pulled into the driveway of Church & State Wines, a bigger winery with two locations, one in Oliver and another in Victoria. It charges $8 for 4 wine samples, and waived when purchasing two bottles of wine.

Church & State Wines

While their wines were quite good, the best part of our visit at Church & State was its outdoor wine bar. Its view was gorgeous!!! Situated on a small hill, you are looking over vineyards and mountains and open fields. It took my breath away! (more…)

Many people go camping on the Labour Day long weekend, taking advantage of the last few days of summer. We were no exceptions. This past Labour Day weekend, Mr. and I, along with CC and DF, went camping in Oliver. You know what Oliver is known as? The Wine Capital of Canada! Obviously we didn’t waste our 4.5 hour drive to Oliver – we spent quite some time at local wineries, and here are some highlights.

Welcome to the Wine Capital of Canada

About The Black Sage Bench

The Oliver/Osoyoo area has two premium growing areas, known as the Golden Mile (along Highway 97) and Black Sage Bench. As suggested by its name, the Black Sage Bench covers the dozen or so wineries along Black Sage Road. Just about every square inch is filled with grape vines.

Rows and rows of vines

With the short stay it’s impossible to swing by every winery on the Black Sage Bench. We picked out ones that we know of, or simply made an impulse turn-off based on how the winery looks. (more…)